So Who's the Bass Player: The Ox Anthology [Original recording remastered]

John Entwistle | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 22, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Sanctuary Records
• ASIN: B0007TFH8Y
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #220,308 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars grab bag of thunder, May 26, 2005

By 

T. Elwin (Arlington, VA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: So Who's the Bass Player: The Ox Anthology (Audio CD)

John Entwistle is my biggest musical influence, as a bass player and musician. As a song-writer he is wry and deadpan, at times musically and lyrically brilliant, but with an equal amount of just plain awful songs. This collection is worth "Bogeyman", alone. "Bogeyman", "I Wonder", and much on disc 1 are solid. It is the mid-to-late 80s and 90s work that someone needed to talk John Entwistle out of.

I have seen him and his solo bands many times and realize his desire for heavy-metal/hollywood-hair band music styles, but hearing the results are painful, embarrassing, and, I hope, forgettable.

This could be a 5-star rating if it was a complimentary cull from his writing with The Who: "905", "You", "When I Was a Boy", "I've Been Away" are all fantastic examples of Entwistle compositions. I guess he needed the wisdom of Daltrey, Townshend, and Moon to temper and hone his songs to greater brilliance. Competing egos tend to have a positive influence on your own inability to view yourself with clear eyes. I will caveat that by also saying I believe there is nothing a solo Beatle did, with any consistency, that holds a candle to the combined effort of The Beatles.

Grab Entwistle's Whistle Rhymes album. That is an Entwistle solo album of track-to-track brilliance. Short of that, pick and choose all his songs written with The Who and some nuggets from his solo work and then you will discover a gifted, wry musician - make sure it includes "When I Was a Boy".

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The OX gets double pressed..., April 11, 2005

By 

B. O'Keefe (United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: So Who's the Bass Player: The Ox Anthology (Audio CD)

While his first two solo albums are untouchable, John's other works are also of great merit and value (yet, sadly, they are at times either overlooked or misunderstood). But here, on this wonderful anthology, you will find a little bit of everything, for everybody.

For those unfamiliar with the OX, here is a terrific place to start...

Two CDs, housed in a slipcase, with excellent liner notes and pictures, what more could you ask for? Personally, I love the live cuts. Not just because they sound great, but also because they are vintage in recording, circa 1975. The live version of 'Whiskey Man' alone is worth buying this set.

For true Entwistle fans, this was a long time coming, even if we just sit around and skip through our favorites.

Rest in peace, John.

We'll all be listening.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Buy his first two albums., July 14, 2008

By 

H. E. Fernau (NYC, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: So Who's the Bass Player: The Ox Anthology (Audio CD)

This collection makes it very clear how unecessary anything in his solo catalogue but 'Smash Your Head Against The Wall' and 'Whistle Rymes' are. His first two albums are dark, clever and clearly were comprised of material he'd had brooding inside for quite some time.

Frankly I find any of the tracks on which Entwistle himself doesnt sing on, and there are a few in this collection, utterly pointless. The CD features some live cuts as well, which are forgettable, though it should be noted this is the only time 905 was performed live.

The only saving grace for the second disc is Bogeyman, featuring a 'Who Are You' era Keith Moon on drums and simple bass and synth, making it a stripped-down treasure for Who and Entwistle fans alike.

So go buy his first two albums and hunt down 'Bogeyman' by some other means.